Q. How should I handle suspected plagiarism?

If you suspect a student of academic integrity violations, first try to help the student understand and learn from the incident as a teachable moment. Here are some examples of how you can do that:

• Send an email to the student with assignment feedback utilizing the Signalz template, "Academic Integrity — Teachable Moment."
• Have a phone conference with the student.
• Offer the student an opportunity to rewrite the assignment.
• Deduct points from the assignment with a detailed explanation of the student's error(s).

You can file a report with the Academic Integrity team in more extreme circumstances, such as continuous violations. See the resources below to help determine the next steps.

• Depending on the severity of the plagiarism, an official citation from the university may be appropriate. In these cases, please submit an IROAD (Incident Report of Academic Dishonesty Form) to IROAD@uagc.edu and notify the student. (Note: Only current UAGC IROAD forms will be accepted. This form is linked below.)
• If you need assistance interpreting the originality report, email AcademicIntegrity@uagc.edu.

To complete the IROAD process, please follow these steps:

• Access the IROAD form (linked below) and save it to your desktop.
• Follow the "Instructions for Faculty" printed at the top of the form.
• Email the student notifying them of the additional review utilizing the Signalz template, “Student Notification of IROAD Submission.”
• Copy and paste the Signalz notification into the Gradebook with the zero entered.
• Be sure to issue the student zero points for the assignment(s) in question before submitting the form.
• Create a new email to the IROAD address on the form, and attach the completed form.
• When calculating the Final Grade for the student at the end of the course, this assignment will count as a zero unless otherwise instructed by the Academic Integrity team reviewing the form.

If a member of the Academic Integrity team reaches out with a question or recommendation regarding your IROAD, please respond within 48 hours to avoid further delay in the review.

While you await a response from the Academic Integrity team, you are encouraged to continue working with the student.  If you have any questions about broaching the subject with your student, please reach out to FacultyHelp@uagc.edu.  You can also email AcademicIntegrity@uagc.edu for general inquiries.

Link(s) to Document(s):

• IROAD (Incident Report of Academic Dishonesty) form
• Academic Integrity FAQ and Decision Tree
• Academic Integrity - Reuse of Previously Submitted Academic Work
• UAGC Catalog: Academic Integrity
• Steps to Avoiding Plagiarism
• Faculty Announcements for Originality Matters

Link(s) to Video(s):

• Understanding Turnitin reports

Link(s) Interactive Tutorials:

• Faculty - Academic Integrity Curriculum in Workday
• Is it Plagiarism?  Practice Activity
• Paraphrasing Practice Activity
• In-Text Citation Practice Quiz

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